Today I began the long drive back to Toulouse via the tiny country of Andorra – a tiny principality sandwiched between Spain and France in the Pyrenees. First, I made a short detour driving up the Valle de Pineta from Bielsa to reach a semi-circular wall of mountains similar to the Cirque de Gavarnie that I had visited a couple of days before. I did not have time for a walk, so simply stopped to admire the view and take photos.

The road to Andorra was pleasant rather than spectacular. Occasionally I would stumble across pretty mountain villages but mostly the countryside was dry and deserted.

My main excitement during the drive was watching the low fuel warning light come on and anxiously checking where the next petrol station might be – I had seen none for miles – but in the end I made it to the small border city of La Sue d’Urgell, which had one. The entry to Andorra, a few km further ahead, was marked by a large customs and immigration post, and suddenly the road changed completely. It still went through pleasant mountains but was much busier and lined on either side by shopping centres and (suddenly) endless petrol stations. As I approached Andorra la Vella – the country’s main and only city – the traffic became denser, and the ugly modern constructions more oppressive.

After fighting my way through traffic jams and roadworks, I found my hotel and set off to explore on foot. The city was unlike anything I had seen anywhere before. It completely filled what might once have been a pretty river valley, surrounded by mountains. There was a tiny old town, accessible by walking up a hill or taking an elevator, where I stopped for some inventive cocktails in one of the many cheap bars.

Outside of this area, the city was a dense mass of duty-free shopping, traffic, building sites and road works. Its main landmark was the fast-flowing river La Valira that flows right through the centre – it seemed to me that the water was rushing to revert to nature and escape the ugliness of man’s work.

Having bought some presents for my friends, I thought the best use of my time would be to treat myself to dinner in a good restaurant – and I was reward by an excellent and well reasonably priced feast. Andorra la Vella had been a strange experience. It has lots of duty free shops, good hotels, and some excellent value bars and restaurants…but frankly it is an ugly city. I was glad to see it once, but also glad to be moving on back to France the next day.

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